Category: Illinois

Sole Openly-Gay Candidate to Pull Out of IL Senate Race, Support Giannoulias

Posted on by TL
Alexi Giannoulias

Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is scheduled to get a big boost Sunday when Jacob Meister withdraws from the Democratic primary. Meister is expected to endorse Giannoulias.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Attorney Jacob Meister will pull out of the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Sunday and throw his support to State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, Meister said tonight.

“Alexi is well ahead in the polls,’ Meister said. “He’s going be our party’s nominee and I think we need to come together around him.”

At recent debates Meister frequently tore into challenger David Hoffman but had few cross words for Giannoulias.a

But Meister called ‘preposterous” the suggestion that he was a Giannoulias pinch-hitter from the start.

The Sun-Times says Miester is the only openly gay candidate in the race, but Meister says he is satisfied that Giannoulias is committed to the causes Meister supports.

I voted for Alexi. I hope he wins the seat. We need another good, thinking liberal in the United States Senate.

Remember, “Liberal” is a good word, especially in this case. Giannoulias is a banker, and bankers are notoriously conservative … when it comes to money. Good bankers are fiscally conservative. Giannoulias is socially liberal.

And that’s a good mix. Something no Republican understands.

More on my thoughts on today’s Republicans later. I finally have them figured out. Really. Finally.

Vote for Alexi Giannoulias. And then vote for him again in the general election.

More here at the Sun-Times.

Could ‘Fast Eddie’ Vrdolyak Be Heading for Prison?

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Tribune:

Saying the sentencing of former Chicago Ald. Edward Vrdolyak to probation for fraud involved "egregious error," the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday reversed the judge who made the controversial decision and took the case away from him.

A three-judge panel voted 2-1 to reverse the sentence handed down last February by U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur, a development that could mean Vrdolyak, 71, winds up serving a prison sentence for his role in a rigged Gold Coast real estate deal.

Federal prosecutors had sought a sentence of three-and-a-half years in prison for Vrdolyak, who pleaded guilty to taking part in a scheme to secretly split a $1.5 million finder’s fee when Rosalind Franklin University sold a building. Corrupt political insider Stuart Levine was on the school’s real estate committee and conspired with Vrdolyak to steer the sale to a developer that would pay the hidden fee.

The panel’s decision didn’t come as a surprise after influential Judge Richard Posner at oral argument last month signaled he had serious issues with Vrdolyak’s sentence of five years’ probation. At the time, Posner even asked the prosecution if it wanted a different judge to re-sentence Vrdolyak, saying, "You’re not going to get anywhere with Judge Shadur, because he’s made up his mind."

Friday’s sharply worded opinion, written by Posner, took Shadur to task for what were described as mistakes and suggested Vrdolyak’s sentence was too lenient.

Years ago, I shared a classroom with Ed Vrdolyak’s son at the University of Notre Dame. I never got to know the young lad — he was my age — but I remember the day the lad told the professor, Samuel Shapiro, his name, and I remember Dr. Shapiro’s reaction.

He was shocked. And probably changed his lecture on the spot.

It would appear that Dad, "Fast-Eddie" Vrdolyak, may be facing some prison time.

I’ll be watching this one closely.

Poll Shows Quinn, Hynes in Democratic Dead Heat

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Tribune:

The Democratic governor primary is a toss-up between Gov. Pat Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes as controversy over an inmate early release program and an imploding state budget cut into the governor’s once-sizable advantage, a Tribune/WGN-TV poll has found.

On the Republican side, three candidates are in a tight battle ahead of the Feb. 2 primary. Former state GOP Chairman Andy McKenna, former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan and state Sen. Kirk Dillard lead the field, but none reached 20 percent, according to the new poll.

The results show that with an early primary election coming little more than a month after the new year, candidates who placed a premium on extensive and expensive TV advertising are seeing dividends as prospective voters began tuning in to the upcoming election.

Each of the surveys, conducted Jan. 16-20, also indicate that results for this primary could depend on last-minute voter appeals through TV, radio and campaign get-out-the-vote efforts.

Among Democrats, Quinn’s better than 2-to-1 lead over Hynes in a Tribune survey six weeks ago has evaporated amid concerns about the unelected incumbent’s ability to handle the job. The poll of 601 likely Democratic voters showed Quinn with 44 percent and Hynes with 40 percent — within the survey’s 4 percentage point error margin. Thirteen percent of the voters were undecided.

While the gap has narrowed, I believe those four points are significant. Both of these candidates have character. I still favor Quinn.

Would You Kill For Drew Peterson?

Posted on by TL

Drew Peterson’s stepbrother, Thomas Morphey (left), took the stand Thursday in a hearing to decide whether prosecutors can use ‘hearsay’ evidence.

I shudder just to write that headline. Hearing a question like that from someone I’m close to would really give me pause.

Drew Peterson allegedly said something like that to his stepbrother.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

A day before Stacy Peterson vanished, Drew Peterson confided that his fourth wife was seeking a divorce — then asked a startling question, Thomas Morphey testified Thursday.

“How much do you love me?” Peterson asked, according to Morphey, his stepbrother. “Enough to kill for me?”

Their Oct. 27, 2007, conversation left Morphey shaken — and convinced that Peterson was planning to kill his 23-year-old wife, Morphey said.

Those fears grew a day later when Drew Peterson asked for help in moving a 3 1/2-foot-tall blue barrel out of his Bolingbrook home, particularly when Morphey picked up one end of the 140-pound container.

“It felt warm,” said Morphey, whose courtroom statements closely followed information he provided in an exclusive 2008 interview that ran in the Chicago Sun-Times. He said in that interview he believes Stacy Peterson’s body was in the plastic container he helped Peterson carry out of the house on Oct. 28, 2007.

The Sun-Times reports that Morphey acknowledged he was so upset by his actions that he took an overdose of prescription drugs the next day in a suicide attempt. He said he was contacted by police investigators after being released from the hospital and provided them information about Peterson’s alleged actions.

Innocent until proven guilty, and I hope the court does everything possible to ensure this is a fair trial.

Because it’s going to be incredibly ugly.

More here at the Sun-Times.

Sun-Times Endorses Robin Kelly For Treasurer

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Two strong Democratic candidates are vying to become the next Illinois treasurer.

But only one has the right experience, temperament and background for the job.

Robin Kelly, the chief of staff in the treasurer’s office, is the Chicago Sun-Times’ choice in the Feb. 2 primary.

Kelly, 53, served as a state representative from south suburban Matteson from 2003 to 2007. Previously, she was director of community affairs for the Village of Matteson.

In Springfield, Kelly, who has a Ph.D. in political science, is known for her smarts, honesty and ability to work with others. An effective legislator with a passion for economic development, she parlayed that into the chief of staff job. She and Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias have upgraded that office, whose main function is to invest the state’s money, and run it well, notwithstanding major losses with one account in the Bright Start college savings program.

It’s On: Hynes Calls Quinn a Liar

Posted on by TL

From NBC Chicago:

Gov Pat Quinn says a new television ad from his Democratic opponent reminds him of when President Obama was heckled during an address to Congress.

"I think that just is not a good way to go in a democracy. I believe in civility and decency. I’m going to run a positive campaign," Quinn said Friday.

In the ad, Comptroller Dan Hynes says Quinn "is lying" about the early prison release program.

In the Quinn ad, the narrator says the governor supports moving some non-violent criminals to half-way houses so prison space can be used to house the state’s most violent offenders.

It’s on, South-Park-style.

Let’s remember as this madness continues that both of these guys are good men, both men of good character.

Through February 2, however, they’ll both be acting like characters.

Gentlemen, please, under no circumstances are you permitted to say in an ad, "What’s he thinking?"

If you do, I won’t vote the office at all.

Gov. Quinn Rethinks Early-Release Program Again

Posted on by TL

Gov. Pat Quinn is doing an about-face again regarding his previous early-release policies. From NBC Chicago:

Gov. Pat Quinn is suspending a second early release program for Illinois prison inmates until he names a safety officer to review it.

This release program was announced in September and was billed as a way to cut costs. Officials said it would include about 1,000 nonviolent offenders.

I covered this in September, and agreed, at the time, with the early release. Here’s part of the story that was on the Sun-Times in November (since archived):

Gov. Quinn Tuesday defended his plan to release up to 1,000 inmates, a step that begins this week and eventually could save the cash-strapped state $5 million a year.

By the end of this week, 62 non-violent offenders who are within a year of their scheduled release dates will be freed in the first wave of Quinn’s early-release initiative.

"We’re going to do this because we do have financial challenges. But at the same time, we’re going to do it in a way that always protects the public," Quinn said during an appearance in Chicago to announce the opening of a new veterans home.

Quinn said those released will be under "constant electronic monitoring" while on parole, and the governor expressed optimism that none of those being set free early will be a threat to society.

"Hopefully they learned their lessons in jail and won’t repeat their crimes," Quinn told reporters.

His administration refused to divulge the names of those in the first wave of early releases.

Give Quinn credit for trying something different.

I don’t know what the solution is. I do know that our prison system is over-crowded with non-violent offenders.

It Is Now Illegal to Text and Drive in Illinois

Posted on by TL
texting

From the Chicago Tribune:

Take your thumbs off the keypad and put your hands on the wheel — it’s now illegal to text-message while driving.

A state law that takes effect Friday also bans checking e-mail, updating Facebook and Web surfing while driving, though using your phone’s GPS is still OK.

“We want everyone to keep their attention on the roadway,” said Capt. Scott Compton, an Illinois State Police spokesman. “Texting and cell phone use is a distraction that not only takes your eyes off the road, but often takes more than one hand to do.”

The texting ban is one of nearly 300 new laws taking effect with the new year, ranging from ethics reforms in the wake of ex- Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s ouster to how credit card companies can market on college campuses.

According to ENEWSPF, police are expected to aggressively enforce the no-texting while driving ban. Police now have authority to subpoena your mobile phone records after an accident to see if you were texting while driving.

Wow! Schaumburg’s First-Ever Tax Levy is $23.7 Million

Posted on by TL

I try not to be surprised, but, yow! I had no idea residents of Schaumburg have never paid a tax levy in the village’s 53 years of existence.

Now, the roughly  75,386 residents are going to have to dig deep to help plug a budget gap, adding about 8.1 percent to each resident’s 2009 tax bill.

From the Daily Herald:

The decision to establish Schaumburg’s first property tax in the village’s 53-year history may not have been a popular choice, but it was needed, Mayor Al Larson said.

“They’ll probably throw us out of office in a year and a half, but it’s something that you have to do,” Larson said. “It’s not taken lightly; we didn’t just make up a number and throw it out there. There’s some real, real costs to the village.”

Trustees unanimously approved a $23.7 million tax levy at Tuesday night’s meeting, which was moved to the Prairie Center for the Arts as village officials anticipated a larger audience. About 70 attended the meeting with 10 making public comments opposing the levy.

The village’s new property tax will add about 8.1 percent to a resident’s 2009 tax bill. The village will start collecting in 2011.

Schaumburg officials said decreased revenue from sales, hotel, food and beverage taxes and the state’s income tax helped create a $17.6 million deficit in the budget.

Larson wouldn’t forecast if the tax would ever be lifted, citing the uncertainty with the economy. He asked if he could “borrow a crystal ball” to predict when the recession would be over.

“Is it going to be over in a year, two years, three years?” he said. “If revenues come back the board certainly would look at cutting the levy.”

Holy over-budgeting, Batman!

Note the mayor pledged to possibly cut, but not eliminate, the levy, somewhere down the road.

Now, perhaps, the South Suburbs will have more success convincing the rest of the state to reform the way schools are funded?

Residents of Schaumburg, welcome to the great State of Illinois.

Beluga Whale Born At Shedd Aquarium This Week Dies

Posted on by TL

Don’t know why, but I actually felt a twang of grief when I read this headline in the Chicago Tribune.

Strange. Feel sorry for the little guy.

Here’s the scoop:

A male baby beluga whale born in a difficult birth Sunday at the Shedd Aquarium died Tuesday after never establishing a bond with his mother or learning to nurse from her.

"This is an extremely sad day for the Shedd Aquarium family," Ken Ramirez, senior vice president of animal collections, said in a written statment announcing the death.

"Over the past 48 hours we provided round-the-clock care to the calf, and this morning, we became more concerned since he continued to be disoriented in his swimming and still had not reached two critical milestones of bonding with mom and nursing.

"Based on our knowledge of a healthy calf, we knew something was wrong."

The statement did not give details of where or when the calf died but said that his 20-year-old mother, Naya, is in good health and remains under 24-hour-a-day observation by the marine mammal staff.

Read more here. And hug your pet goldfish.

Or something like that.